


1 Night (+The Rest of Our Lives)

by theartofbeinganerd



Series: 1 Night (+9 Months) Series [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AUs, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Hopefully Less Angst, Missing Scenes, Morning After, Of An AU, One Night Stand AU, Unplanned Pregnancy, Wedding Planning, one shots, proposal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2018-12-09 16:10:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11672562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theartofbeinganerd/pseuds/theartofbeinganerd
Summary: A series of one shots (missing scenes, AUs, and post-series fics) set in my one night stand universe, 1 Night (+9 Months).





	1. First Date AU

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, here it is, the promised extension to the 1 Night universe! I'm so excited to be continuing with this series, and I hope you all are as well! 
> 
> Written for the prompt: "I just finished reading your one night stand fic. If you’re still taking requests, would you like to write one for that fic? AU where they get to go on that first date as planned".
> 
> *Set during the end of Part Thirteen, going AU before Jemma receives Charlotte's phone call

Jemma was the perfect picture of calm, carefully subdued excitement as she put the finishing touches on her makeup and outfit for her date with Fitz –

At least, she _was_ , until the sound of the doorbell ringing echoed through her flat, and suddenly, her heart was racing and her palms were clammy and she couldn’t quite seem to catch her breath.

Which was ridiculous, of course, given that she and Fitz had spent the better part of two years as close friends and almost-flat mates. Not to mention, either, that they had a _daughter_ together. But, one little reminder that _Fitz_ was on the other side of her front door, waiting to take her on their first date, was enough to have Jemma forgetting completely about keeping her calm or the fact that she had no reason to be nervous.

Nearly stumbling in her haste to get to the door, Jemma pulled it open to find Fitz standing there in the hall. As soon as his eyes fell upon her, they rounded with clear awe, his lips parting to let out an audible breath. “Jemma…you…um, _wow_ , I…”

Heat crawled across her cheeks in a pleased blush at striking Fitz speechless, and she indulged in a little onceover of her own, biting her lip to hold back the appreciative grin that she could feel forming. She very much liked his whole outfit, but it was the tie around his neck that caught and held Jemma’s attention; it was the first time that she’d seen him in one since the wedding, and the last time she’d seen _that_ tie was when she’d been using it to tug him along behind her down the hotel hallway, and –

 _Okay_ , that definitely wasn’t what she needed to be thinking about just now.

“Hi Fitz,” she greeted him warmly, as though they hadn’t just seen each other a couple of hours ago. With a little laugh, she added, “Would you like to come in?”

Seeming to be over his momentary loss of words, Fitz chuckled and followed her inside the flat, making a show of glancing around. “Nice place,” he commented teasingly, throwing a little grin at her when she rolled her eyes fondly.

“ _Oh_ , don’t you two look cute!”

With a much less amused roll of her eyes, Jemma turned to find Daisy and Bobbi exiting her bedroom, Evelyn still held within Bobbi’s arms and a smirk playing on Daisy’s lips. Fitz didn’t seem bothered by her little joke, however, instead gushing overly dramatically, “Is this your _daughter_? My goodness, she’s gorgeous!”

He didn’t keep up his little act for much longer, though, not when Evelyn was squealing at the sight of her father, reaching out for him and squirming in Bobbi’s grip. With a laugh and a shake of her head, Bobbi handed her over to Fitz, telling her mock-sternly, “Now, no messing up Daddy’s nice clothes, alright?”

“So,” Daisy started, crossing her arms over her chest and arching a curious eyebrow, “where are you two crazy kids going tonight?”

Still quite unsure of the answer to that herself (Fitz had stubbornly refused to share any details of the night with her no matter how many times or how nicely she’d asked), Jemma turned to Fitz beside her and gazed at him expectantly. Instead of offering an answer, though, he simply told Bobbi and Daisy, “Jemma will just have to tell you two all about it later.”

In response, they both widened their eyes and made exaggerated noises of appreciation. Though, embarrassingly enough, Daisy shot a wink at Jemma and said pointedly, “We’ll have to talk _tomorrow_ then.”

Blatantly ignoring Daisy’s not-so-subtle innuendo, Jemma grabbed her purse from where she’d set it on the dining room table and asked her once more, “Are you sure you’re alright with watching Evelyn?”

Daisy let out a groan of exasperation, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling as she repeated yet again, “ _Yes_ , I am more than okay with watching Evie.” She held out her hands to take Evelyn from Fitz, but he didn’t release her until he’d kissed the top of her little head and told her that he loved her.

Once Jemma had given Evelyn a kiss of her own and promised to be back soon, she and Fitz left the flat together, and she had to admit that it felt a bit… _strange_. After all, they never really spent much time together without Evelyn, and certainly not to go out on dates – but, that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t like to do it more often, of course.

As they’d previously discussed, Fitz took her out to dinner first, which ended up being at a restaurant nearby that had opened some months before Bobbi and Hunter’s wedding. She’d been interested in going for some time, truthfully, but with everything that she’d had on her plate at the time, and then her pregnancy with Evelyn, she’d just never had the chance.

Despite the short rough patch at the beginning of their meal, where neither of them could seem to figure out quite what to talk about when they already saw each other all the time and knew almost everything about the other, it went remarkably well.

When they left the restaurant, however, Fitz began leading them _away_ from the parking lot, and instead began heading down the sidewalk. Jemma was desperately curious as to where they were going and what they were doing, but she doubted very much that Fitz would tell her, so she didn’t even bother trying. Plus, she didn’t mind the walk at all; the night air was perfectly tempered, not too cold, not too hot, even in her sleeveless dress.

Something about this particular neighborhood was tickling something at the back of Jemma’s brain, but she couldn’t quite put finger on it. At least, she couldn’t until she’d spotted it – the hotel which housed the ballroom where Bobbi and Hunter had gotten married all that time ago.

How could she have _forgotten_? Of course, she hadn’t been to this particular section of town in some time, but _still_ …

Pausing as soon as she laid eyes on the hotel, Jemma turned to gape wordlessly at Fitz. But, he didn’t offer any sort of explanation, just gently grasped her hand and continued leading her toward the building. Once inside, he guided her through the lobby, then down a short hallway that she remembered led to the ballroom.

Sure enough, a moment later, they stepped into the familiar, grand room, coming to a stop in the arched entryway. The lights were down low, and there was a string band in the far corner, playing soft romantic music for the couples dancing underneath the crystal chandeliers on the high-vaulted ceiling.

Finally, in a hushed tone, Fitz explained, “I drove by here once, and I noticed a sign saying that they had free dancing every Friday night, and I’d figured…” He trailed off with a shrug, then finished with a blush that Jemma could just barely see in the dim lighting, “I figured that we deserved a _real_ first dance to make up for the one we shared at the wedding.”

With a sharp wince of embarrassment, Jemma easily remembered the stumbled, drunken dance (if it could even be called that) that she and Fitz had shared, practically falling all over each other and giggling like mad the whole time. “Yes,” she agreed firmly, giving the hand of his she still held a grateful squeeze, “we’ll just pretend from now on that tonight was the first.”

A relieved grin stretched across Fitz’s face, and he gave her hand a gentle tug, leading her out onto the dance floor, amid the other couples there. As Jemma stepped into his arms, she released a little, involuntary sigh of something almost like relief at being so close to him, at being held in his arms and surrounded by his warmth and comfort.

She dropped her cheek to rest on his shoulder, closing her eyes, and as they swayed slowly together, it was just…it was a thousand times better than the one other dance they’d had together.

For a moment, she allowed herself to pretend that _this_ was the dance they’d had all that time ago, to pretend that Fitz had shyly asked her to dance after they’d caught each other sneaking shy glances all night long. Knowing Fitz, he would have struggled for a moment once they were actually _on_ the dance floor, trying to figure out where to place his hands without seeming _presumptuous_ , and her heart would have beat unevenly with amusement and the beginnings of affection.

Of course, they would’ve fallen into the right rhythm eventually, and maybe they would have even danced more than one song together. At the end of the night, she would’ve caught up with him again, and fumbled over her words as she attempted to coolly suggest that they see each other again, and…

And yes, it would have been the more ideal situation – it would’ve meant that they’d done things the “right” way around, but… _But_ , then they might not have Evelyn, and Jemma couldn’t even begin to imagine that any scenario being the “right” one if her daughter wasn’t in it.

So, Jemma was quite content to believe that things had turned out exactly the way that they were supposed to, exactly the way that she would’ve chosen, if given the chance _to_ choose.

And, she thought to herself with a wry smile as she pressed just a bit closer to Fitz and nuzzled against his exposed neck slightly, just to feel the way that he shuddered in response, despite how backwards they’d gone about it, they’d still gotten this dance. It wasn’t as though they’d missed out on anything, not really.

After dancing a handful of dances together, Jemma’s feet were aching in her heels and even though she’d resolved to stick it out so that she could prolong their date just a bit longer, sweet, observant Fitz was quick to notice and suggest that they head back home. She almost thought to argue, but it _was_ getting a bit late, and she reminded herself that there would be other dates (or at least, she was pretty confident that there would be).

Daisy was sprawled out on the couch when they returned to Jemma’s flat, watching some low-budget horror movie and laughing at the bad acting and awful effects. However, when they stepped through the door, she quickly sat up and turned the TV off. “Hey, how’d it go?”

Unable to help the smile tugging at her lips, Jemma glanced at Fitz and found a matching smile on his face. “It went quite well, thank you.”

Standing from her perch on the couch, Daisy brushed past them as she headed straight for the door, though Jemma didn’t miss her suggestive smirk as she informed them, “Evie’s down for the count and shouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.”

“ _Thank you_ ,” Jemma told Daisy, her tone pointed as she arched an eyebrow at her friend.

Daisy gave her a yet another very unsubtle wink as she opened the front door and stepped out into the hallway, “Have a good night, you two.” And then, with that, the door closed behind her.

Giving Fitz a slightly awkward smile, Jemma stepped out of her heels, curling her fingers around the straps as silence fell between them. For a moment, she seriously considered taking the opportunity that had been presented to them and extending the night, inviting Fitz back to her bedroom with her.

But, she was quick to stop that line of thinking – they’d already rushed things enough, truthfully. Jemma would much rather like to take this slow and to enjoy the ride, as it were. She had the feeling that doing so would only serve to make everything that happened between them from then on all the sweeter.

So, she smiled softly and told him sincerely, “I had a wonderful night, Fitz, thank you.”

Fitz gave a little shrug, sliding his hands into his pockets as he assured her, “It was nothing; it was _my_ pleasure, really.” Then, he smiled warmly and added, “Goodnight, Jemma.”

Jemma had to press her lips together to hide her fond, slightly exasperated grin – she may not have been inviting Fitz into her bed tonight, but that didn’t mean that she was leaving this room without a goodnight kiss.

With that in mind, she wordlessly closed the short distance between them, stepping close and leaning up onto the tips of her toes to find his lips with hers. _Finally_ , she could kiss him without alcohol or mistletoe or the high of having created a human being together. And, just as she’d imagined it would be, it was incredible and perfect and everything that she could’ve ever asked for in a first (real) kiss.

She could feel Fitz’s fingers gripping lightly at her waist, bunching slightly in the fabric of her dress as his lips moved shyly over hers at first. But, when she pressed a bit closer and lifted her free hand to cup the back of his head, sifting her fingers through his closely-cropped curls, the passion of his kiss went up a notch (or two).

However, Jemma forced herself to slow it back down soon enough, planting a few gentle pecks on his lips before breaking away completely. She was determined to do things right, no matter how skewed the timeline of their relationship was, no matter how _delectable_ Fitz’s lips were. “Goodnight Fitz,” she murmured, sliding her hand around to press briefly and lovingly against his cheek.

With one last shared smile, she then turned and headed to her bedroom (though, not without taking a quick peek in to see that Evelyn was indeed asleep first). Once inside with the door firmly closed behind her, Jemma leaned back against it and let out a burst of giggly laughter, pressing her hand to her mouth to muffle it.


	2. Second First Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompts: "Second first morning after!!!" and "Second first morning after in the 1 night 'verse"; also requested by @lapiccolina

The very first thing that Jemma registered upon falling rather apruptly into consciousness was the searing ache between her eyes and the rancid taste in her mouth that was enough to have her gagging. Releasing a low groan, she shifted slightly, trying to fumble her way into at least sitting up so that she could figure out what the hell she’d done last night.

But, then she felt _skin_ beneath her palm, and the firm but giving surface of flesh, and Jemma’s eyes shot open.

Almost instantly, sunlight burned across her retinas, causing her to let out a sharp hiss of pain and clench her eyes shut once more. It took a few moments before the danger of her empting her stomach (which she assumed that she’d already done at least once the previous night, given the taste lingering on her tongue) had passed, and then she cautiously reopened her eyes.

A glance around what was clearly a hotel room (likely one located in the same hotel where Bobbi and Hunter had gotten married) revealed her maid of honor dress, which was now crumpled on the ground, along with a suit jacket and a wrinkled tie, and her bra, now hanging precariously on the back of the desk chair.

Blinking a couple of times, Jemma steeled herself, then slowly turned her head to find herself staring up at Fitz, the best man – the very same best man that she’d given a thorough tongue-lashing to for being late to the wedding, only to find out that it was because his grandmother had just died.

 _I suppose this means he forgave me for being so callous_ , Jemma couldn’t help but think to herself dryly, even as she felt a small but sharp spike of guilt at the reminder of her actions. But, more predominantly, she was shocked and utterly embarrassed and there was the overwhelming feeling of what the hell was she supposed to do now?

Fitz was still fast asleep (and oh _god_ , just looking at him had memories of the previous night flooding back to her, though thankfully they were hazy and distorted by too much alcohol, or she didn’t think she could survive the subsequent mortification), and if she could just sneak out without waking him, this would all be over and she could forget about it as soon as the door had closed behind her.

It was the best outcome of this whole situation that she could come up with, so Jemma began to, ever so carefully, scoot away from Fitz’s sleeping body, taking it one small step at a time. She froze, briefly, when he shifted slightly and let out a quiet rush of breath. But, when his eyes remained firmly closed, Jemma felt safe in continuing her measured retreat.

Finally, she made it far enough away from him to slip off of the bed, and then nearly stumbled in her hurry around the room to grab her clothes from where they’d been flung so carelessly the night before. She paused for a moment in her rapid dressing, however, when she managed to catch sight of herself in a mirror hanging on the wall, wincing at the sight of her reflection.

The smeared makeup, mussed hair, wrinkled clothes, and the splotchy red marks that were forming on her neck and chest certainly gave a very clear picture of what she’d been up to last night, but there wasn’t much she could do about it just then. And, well, besides, she assumed that everyone working in a hotel had already seen plenty of people just like her leaving a hotel room in the early morning hours, an aura of shame coming off of them so strong that it could be felt from a mile away.

Forcing herself to remember that and to ignore her telling appearance for now, Jemma then hastily tiptoed to the door, turned the knob, and…hesitated.

She glanced back, just briefly, to where Fitz was still sleeping, and the light from the partially opened windows was spilling over him just right so that she had to take a breath because _wow_ he was attractive. In a moment of weakness, she considered then maybe staying and…

 _And what?_ she asked herself sharply. She didn’t know anything about this guy, he was one of _Hunter’s_ friends (which wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, after all), and she was embarrassed enough about having a one night stand that she simply wanted to put it all behind herself and forget already.

Unfortunately, that also included Fitz.

So, Jemma disregarded the tug of regret and finally stepped out the room, softly closing the door behind her and inhaling a deep breath. She’d done the right thing, even if it didn’t quite feel like it at the moment.

If there was one thing that had come out of last night though, it was the resounding promise to herself that this would _never_ happen again.

-

The very first thing that Jemma registered upon fading into consciousness was the feeling of warm sunlight playing along her bare back, but it was nothing compared to the heat of the palm curved along her hip, keeping her close to the solid body lying half-beneath her. Fighting a ridiculously giddy smile, she cracked open her eyes and found herself staring up at Fitz once more, asleep and just as achingly gorgeous as the first time that she’d woken up in his arms.

But, _oh_ last night had been a hundred times better than the night they’d had together after the wedding. Yes, that night had been…well, _hot_ , for lack of a better word, but this time it had just meant so much _more_. For one, there had been no alcohol in their systems and clouding their memories, but also, they now had almost two years worth of history and friendship between them, they were in love, and…and it was just simply a culmination of everything that they’d been through together, a literal _finally_.

It had been wonderful and perfect, everything that she’d wanted and more, even if it had been a bit…soon, all things considered.

Jemma had tried her best, she truly had, but she’d only made it roughly three days after their first date before the waiting had become unbearable. They’d returned home from Sheffield the day before, and had spent much of that day unpacking while Fitz began making plans to move in as soon as possible, which she’d delightedly helped with as much as she could.

Yesterday, however, they’d both gone back to work while Evelyn had gone back to her daycare, and then had spent the late afternoon and evening together, watching kids’ movies with Evelyn and sharing the dumb, ridiculous smiles that they’d been giving each other since their date. Fitz had taken Evelyn to get her ready for bed, and when Jemma had gone to her room a little later to say goodnight to her, she’d happened upon the sight of Fitz in the rocking chair that was situated in the corner of the room, Evelyn curled up in his lap as he read her a bedtime story.

Jemma wasn’t proud of it, but all she’d been able to think in that moment was a simultaneous ‘ _awww_ ’ and ‘ _I can’t wait to have this perfect, incredible man any longer_ ’.

Truthfully, though, she should’ve gotten a medal or something for waiting as long as she had – being treated to the sight of Fitz as the most adorable father to ever live had always been a bit of a turn-on, but she’d never consciously recognized the low flare of heat for what it was, and now that she did…

Well, she was only human.

Fitz had smiled up at her then, laughing softly as he’d gestured to Evelyn, who was fast asleep against him, and saying something vaguely along the lines of her being out like a light. Jemma had been buzzing with anxious energy as she and Fitz had then put Evelyn to bed and kissed her goodnight. But, once her door had closed behind them, she hadn’t waited another moment before pouncing, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his, dragging him (rather willingly, she might add) behind her to her bedroom down the hall.

Thinking about what had happened next had a satisfied, slightly smug smile tugging at Jemma’s lips, and she shifted a bit before resettling against Fitz, idly tracing a fingertip along his side and absently counting his ribs as she trailed over them.

“Not thinking about leaving, are you?”

The sudden and unexpected sound of Fitz’s voice surprised Jemma thoroughly, and she lifted her head to find him watching her through half-opened eyes, a little smirk playing on his lips.

“I don’t know where you intend to go if that’s the case, since this is technically _your_ flat, after all,” he added, clearly amused.

Rolling her eyes up at him, Jemma answered him firmly, “ _No_ , I have no intentions of leaving this bed anytime soon – I’m right where I want to be, actually.”

Fitz’s smile softened as he commented lowly, “It is nice, though, to actually…y’know, wake up with you this time.”

Jemma dropped her head forward to rest against his sternum, letting out a muffled groan. “Stop making me feel bad about that already! I’ve said I was sorry for leaving, haven’t I? I was just so embarrassed and I had no clue how much you’d mean to me and –”

“Hey,” Fitz cut in gently, stroking a soothing hand between her shoulder blades, “you don’t have to apologize anymore, Jemma. I promise, I was just teasing; I understand why you did what you did.”

Lifting her head to peek up at him once more, and upon seeing his warm smile, she returned it and murmured, “Thank you.”

They were quiet for a moment, his hand idly smoothing along the skin of her back as she traced the shape of his face, fingers drawing along the line of his jaw and thumbing at his bottom lip, wanting to memorize completely the way that he looked in this moment.

After a time, though, Fitz broke the silence to admit, “You know…this is what our first time should’ve been like.”

Though Jemma thought so too, she was finished with dwelling on the past after how long they’d spent thinking of ‘what if’s and ‘should’ve’s, so instead, she changed the tone of the conversation a bit by teasing, “What, with an abundance of condoms, or not in a hotel room that had probably serviced a hundred other rendezvous before ours?”

Fitz let out a laugh at that, even as he pulled a disgusted face, and the sound of it brought a loving smile to Jemma’s lips as his hand drifted up to slide along her upper arm, briefly squeezing her shoulder. “Well, probably the latter, because I can’t quite regret the former – I love Evie too much, despite the inconvenient timing.”

She gave a soft hum in agreement, but then replied, “The timing wasn’t _so_ inconvenient – we managed, didn’t we?” Pressing her palm flat to his chest so that she could feel his heart beating steadily beneath it, Jemma went on with a sly smirk, “I got you back into my bed anyway, so everything worked out, didn’t it?”

Fitz made a startled noise, his eyebrows rising on his forehead as he managed to get out, “Yes, I suppose everything did.” Then, however, he cleared his throat and asked, “Is…is that your definition of things ‘working out’, then? Getting me back into bed?”

Jemma gave a little shrug in response. “It’s not a bad result to shoot for, no, but it’s not the _only_ thing that I was hoping for.” Folding her hands together on his chest and resting her chin on top of them, she explained, “We’re raising Evelyn together – quite successfully, I must add – and you’re moving in soon, you love me and I love you, so…well, this is just a _very_ nice bonus.” And then, because she couldn’t help herself, she added, “But, I must admit that I _am_ quite insulted that you’ve been awake for almost fifteen minutes now and haven’t kissed me or told me that you love me after how incredible last night was.”

Fitz’s eyebrows shot up his forehead in alarm, and he used his arm around her shoulders to tug her up closer to him. When his lips were hovering just over hers, he murmured, “Well then, we’ll just have to remedy that, won’t we?”

“ _Mm_ ,” Jemma hummed, her mouth curving up at the corners as it met his, and she reached up with one hand to cup his cheek, keeping him close as she tenderly caressed his lips with hers. They’d only been kissing each other with any sort of frequency for a handful of days now, but she’d already thoroughly explored and committed his mouth to memory, just as she was sure he had done with hers.

Despite that, though, she still got a thrill from every single kiss; no matter how small, love and affection and desire always shot straight through her in response. Kissing Fitz was something that Jemma was quite sure would never, _ever_ get old.

Fitz broke the kiss after a long moment, the hand cupping the back of her head keeping her from retreating too far as he breathed, “I love you, Jemma.”

Similarly, hearing those words come from Fitz would never, _ever_ get old either. A beaming smile spread across her face as she murmured in response, “I love you too,” before leaning back in to capture his lips once more. She still remembered the brief moment of hesitation that she’d had on that first morning, the desire to get back into bed with Fitz and wait for him to wake up, the momentary indulgence of imagining a repeat of the night before, only with sunlight brushing across her skin along with his hands and lips.

It might be a couple of years late, but Jemma figured that now was a good a time as any to finally entertain that fantasy.

Or, it would’ve been, if the flat wasn’t filled with a high-pitched shriek at that moment, a sound that Jemma knew quite well meant that Evelyn was awake and was no longer in the mood to be stuck in her crib.

Both Jemma and Fitz let out simultaneous groans of disappointment, and she let her head drop to rest on his chest once more as she fought to catch her breath. “Consequences of doing things out of order, I suppose,” she said after a moment.

“At least she let us get this far,” Fitz replied with a quiet chuckle, carefully sliding out from under her and out of bed. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if she’d decided to wake up at some point last night.”

“Spontaneously combusted from a build-up of too much unresolved sexual tension?” Jemma offered as she rolled over onto her back, sitting up before climbing out of bed as well.

Fitz snorted in amusement. “Probably.” He finished tugging his shirt over his head then, and moved to turn the doorknob so that he could go get Evelyn, but Jemma reached out to catch his free hand, tugging slightly to get his attention. “What is it?”

Wordlessly, Jemma pulled him back into the circle of her arms, pressing up onto the tips of her toes to find his lips with hers once more. Fitz was far from unwilling, his hand dropping from the knob so that he could hold her steady with both hands on her hips as he responded eagerly to her kiss.

It was barely a moment later before another cry from a very upset Evelyn interrupted them yet again, and Fitz laughed a bit breathlessly as he stepped back and away from her. “That’s my cue. I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.” He leaned forward to drop one last kiss on her forehead, then opened the door and stepped out into the hall.

There was a brilliant grin on Jemma’s face that she couldn’t possibly contain (nor did she really want to) as she moved about her bedroom, getting dressed and straightening the rumpled blankets on her bed just a bit. When she finally left the room and met Fitz in the hall, a sleepy Evelyn in his arms with her head resting on his shoulder, Jemma was filled an overwhelming surge of rightness.

Their situation was unique and far from normal, but she couldn’t imagine a _better_ morning after than waking up with the man that she considered her best friend, who she loved and adored completely, the father of her child. Though she had sometimes regretted that she hadn’t stayed in that hotel room and woken Fitz up with kisses pressed along his chest and neck, with wandering hands and a teasing smirk, it was in that moment that she banished any remaining regrets.

 _This_ , this was always how it was meant to be, and it was _perfect_.


	3. Fitz Moves In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested on tumblr by @lapiccolina: "Maybe a one shot of Jemma helping Fitz move in, or rather, a one shot of Jemma over at Fitz's place?"

The door unlocked with an audible _click_ , and Fitz began reaching for the knob, but then he paused suddenly and turned back to face Jemma with a sheepish smile. “It may be a bit, ah, messy.” When Jemma arched an eyebrow at that, he added hastily, “I haven’t spent more than a couple of hours here in…well, frankly, a very long time, so I haven’t really cleaned and…”

Deciding that it was time to help relieve Fitz of some of his obvious nerves, Jemma laughed lightly and assured him, “Fitz, I already know about how you ‘forget’ to pick up your laundry, and I still love you; I hardly think that I’ll see anything in here that’ll have me heading for the hills.”

She noticed his shoulders relax just slightly, but he still looked a bit worried, so Jemma stretched up onto her toes and found his lips with hers. Right on time, she felt that same little rush of giddiness that she always did at the freedom of being able to kiss him whenever she wanted to – she wasn’t sure that she’d ever get over that feeling, and wasn’t sure that she’d ever _want_ to.

When she leaned back after a long moment, Fitz did seem quite a bit calmer, much to her relief. Offering her a warm (slightly and adorably dopey) smile, he said easily, “Alright then, let’s get to it,” and opened the door, leading the way into his seldom-used flat.

Almost immediately and against her will, Jemma’s eyebrows shot up toward her hairline, and she glanced around with wide, disbelieving eyes. Sure, she’d seen how he left his wrinkled shirts on the floor of her (well, now _their_ ) bedroom and the way that he ended up with all mismatched socks because he kept losing them all throughout her flat, but this…

 _This_ was on a scale all its own.

Clothes were strewn over every available surface that she could see, stacks of papers, various sketches and blueprints among them, were piling up everywhere else, and used dishes filled up the counters and sink of his kitchen.

Gasping, Jemma turned to him and whispered in horror, “ _Fitz_.”

Fitz winced and nodded, replying miserably, “I know, I _know_ – but it honestly wasn’t this bad when I was living here full-time, I promise! I’ve just let cleaning go a bit by the wayside, what with work and helping you take care of Evie keeping me busy most of the time.” He shot his own glance around the flat, then advised her, “Just…ignore the mess for now while we pack up the important stuff, and I’ll make a couple of trips here after work this week to try and clean up the rest.”

“How in the _world_ do you expect me to _ignore_ this?” she asked him, arching an incredulous brow. Had he ever _met_ her before?

However, he gave her a dry look and deadpanned, “Jem, you have a one-year-old that gets into _everything_ , how can you possibly still care about perfect cleanliness?”

Making a bit of a face, Jemma had to admit that he was right; Evelyn was at that point where she was very much mobile, and now nothing was safe anymore – she’d had to accept that the toys in Evelyn’s bedroom would be in perpetual disarray on the floor, no matter how many times they played the “clean up” game.

But, she still wouldn’t admit it to _Fitz_ , and instead scoffed, reminding him, “I work in a _lab_ , so of course perfect cleanliness still matters to me.” With her point made, she strode off in the direction that she assumed his bedroom must be in.

“Yeah, well, so do I, and look at _my_ place,” Fitz called after her, his voice carrying down the hallway off of the living room that she’d taken.

Jemma rolled her eyes fondly at his words, but abruptly froze in her tracks when she passed by a smaller bedroom, currently empty save for a half-finished wooden crib sitting in the middle of it. She remembered then, distantly, the day that she and Fitz had painted Evelyn’s nursery, when he’d mentioned building her a crib for his flat – she’d all-but forgotten about it since then, especially when Fitz had effectively moved in with her before Evelyn had even been born.

“Oh.”

Startled, she glanced over her shoulder at the sudden sound of Fitz’s mumble, finding him just coming up behind her in the hall.

A bit awkwardly and without being prompted, he began to explain, “I never got around to finishing that – but it’s fine, ‘cause it wouldn’t have gotten any use anyway.” He paused there, then his expression became contemplative as he said absently, “Actually, I can probably finish it up and offer it to Sheila down in Marketing; she’s about halfway through her first pregnancy at the moment.”

Finally turning to face him fully, Jemma hesitated, then admitted in a rush, “For a long time, I felt horribly about not being able to give Evelyn the family that she deserved, one that was together and happy and…and I’m just so… _glad_ that it’s all worked out the way that it has. Despite my fears, Evelyn has never known what it’s like to live in separate homes and to be away from one of her parents all the time. I don’t think that I’ve ever thanked you for staying with me so that I didn’t have to do it alone, even though I was prepared to, but –”

“Hey,” Fitz cut in there, shaking his head, “don’t. You have thanked me, actually, quite a few times. But Jem, you don’t _have_ to; it’s sort of my job, y’know, to take care of Evie and to do all of this with you. A mother should never have to thank a father for being in their child’s life, and I don’t ever want you to think that you have to, okay?”

For a lengthy moment, Jemma simply gazed at him, wondering how she’d possibly gotten so lucky as to be loved by and have a family with this wonderful man. But, then she smiled tenderly and nodded, stepping closer to him and winding her arms around his neck, leaning into him.

As his hands came up to familiarly curve along her waist, she whispered, “I love you,” causing Fitz’s dopey grin to return with a vengeance, and Jemma had never been more in love (something that tended to happen every single day that she spent with Fitz, even though she always imagined that it was impossible to be more in love with him than she already was).

“I love you too,” he murmured, then swooped down to capture her lips with his, causing Jemma’s mind to go deliciously blank as she returned the kiss, sliding her fingers through his curls and pressing closer to him.

She felt her back hit the wall a moment later, and she caught Fitz’s bottom lip between both of hers, tugging gently on it. She could feel his answering groan all the way to her toes –

But, then Fitz abruptly broke away, breathing with obvious difficulty as he dropped his forehead to rest against the wall beside hers. “If you keep that up, we’ll never get anything packed,” he warned her hoarsely.

Chuckling fondly, Jemma turned her head to peck his cheek before ducking out from between him and wall as she agreed easily, “You’re right; we have to pick Evelyn up from daycare at three.”

As she headed further down the hall to his bedroom, she could hear him grumbling, “I at _least_ expected a protest…”

Turning to hand him an empty box and a roll of tape, Jemma affected an exaggerated pout and apologized sweetly, “I’m so sorry for bruising your _ego_ , Fitz. Of course you’re very difficult to resist.”

He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. “You don’t need to placate me; I already know that you love organization and order more than me.”

A burst of laughter bubbled out of her, and she shrugged unashamedly. “What can I say? I love systems.”

Fitz’s answering smile was soft and adoring, and had Jemma’s heart swooping a bit in her chest (it also had her eyeing his nearby bed longingly, but she ignored that urge – for now, at least). “Yeah, I know.”

Working together (and only stopping every so often to share kisses), they managed to get most of his (clean) clothes, books, and other various odds and ends packed up to move from his bedroom to her flat that day. In fact, they were even ahead of Jemma’s mental schedule, so with some time left over, she offered, “I can help you start sorting through some of these papers, if you’d like. It definitely seems like something that’ll take a fair bit of time for just one person.”

Fitz, however, hesitated, glancing around at the papers littering his living room. After a beat, he admitted, “Some of them are actually for work, and that means they’re…um, classified.” Jemma immediately opened her mouth to assure him that she understood, but then he shrugged and went on, “But, as long as you don’t tell Mr. Stark, then it should be fine – and as long as you don’t plan on selling anything you see to another company, naturally.”

“Fitz…” Stepping closer and laying a hand on his arm, Jemma asked gently, “Are you sure?”

“Of course I am,” he replied without hesitation.

Unable to help her smile, she found his hand with hers, giving it a grateful squeeze before she began leafing through the nearest pile of papers. After a moment, she said with a little laugh, “You know, even if I wanted to, I don’t think I’d ever even have the chance to tell Mr. Stark about this. We don’t exactly run in the same circles, you know.”

Strangely, Fitz grew quiet at that, and she glanced over curiously to find him rubbing the back of his neck, like he always did when he was unsure about something.

Frowning, Jemma half-turned from the papers and asked him, “What’s wrong, Fitz?”

He visibly flushed at the question, shrugging a bit jerkily as he explained, “Um well, actually, Stark Industries is having this employee picnic coming up and…we’re allowed to invite our families and I…well, I was going to ask if you wanted to come – and we’d bring Evie, of course.”

Jemma was momentarily stunned by the admission, before she asked softly, “Do you want us to come?”

After all, they’d only been together a short time in the grand scheme of things, even if it felt like so much longer, and their work lives were still their _own_ , despite having met each other’s families and having spent the better part of a year raising a child together. Jemma herself would be perfectly fine introducing Fitz to her colleagues, but she didn’t want him to feel as though he _had_ to bring them to this picnic, just because they were a couple now.

Fitz, however, replied instantly, “Of _course_ I do. But, you don’t have to feel like you –”

“I would _love_ to come with you, Fitz,” she cut in to assure him. At that, he grinned widely, looking half-relieved and half-thrilled, and Jemma smirked playfully as she added “But on one condition – you’ll have to introduce me to Tony Stark himself, obviously.”

She was only teasing, and she knew that he knew that, but regardless he gave a little shrug and told her, “I can if you really want me to; you’ll just have to remember not to take anything that he says seriously.”

Jemma arched her eyebrows, asking in disbelief, “Really?” When he nodded, she laughed lightly and said, “It’s a done deal, then.”

-

The last box had finally been brought into Jemma’s flat, and Evelyn, who they’d picked up on their way back, was currently attempting to peer into each of the boxes, curious about their contents. However, she was clearly frustrated to find that they were _all_ taped closed.

Nodding to Evelyn, Jemma told Fitz teasingly, “Seems as though Evelyn wants to help you unpack, Fitz.”

Chuckling, Fitz reached down to grab Evelyn around her little waist, lifting her up to the sound of her delighted squeals. “Is that true? D’you wanna help Daddy move in, Evie?” he asked, pressing smacking kisses to her cheeks as Evelyn made a feigned effort to escape his hold. “Perhaps we’ll even find out if you take after your mum when it comes to her ‘systems’.”

Jemma gave a mock-huff at the comment, crossing her arms over her chest. “Just for that, I’m taking back the half of my closet that I’ve cleared out for you.”

In response, Fitz affected an overly-exaggerated and absolutely ridiculous pout. And as if that wasn’t enough, then Evelyn was copying it, and it was all too much for Jemma, who simultaneously felt her heart melting and had laughter slipping past her lips.

“Alright, alright,” she gave in easily, “you can have your half of the closet still!”

Grinning victoriously, Fitz ducked closer to kiss her cheek. “Thank you.” Stepping back, he tucked a giggling Evelyn up under his arm, and said pointedly, “We’d better get started then, Evie.”

As they disappeared into Jemma’s (and now, Fitz’s) bedroom, she called after them, “I had better not see those clothes just in a heap on the closet floor!”

Her only answer was a loud, defeated groan.

Given that they’d only brought over a few boxes, the whole process of unpacking didn’t take very long at all. By the time that the pizza that Fitz had convinced her to order for dinner had been delivered, he was just finishing straightening a poster of space that they’d taken from his flat and that now hung proudly in her living room.

“Voila,” Fitz announced grandly as he stepped back to admire his handiwork, and Jemma smiled as she came up beside him. She slipped an arm around his waist, admiring the sight of his poster beside her art prints, his books shelved beside hers, and paired with the comforting weight of his arm around her shoulders and the familiar background noise of Evelyn playing just on the other side of the couch, it all felt so very _right_.

Dropping her head to rest on his shoulder and releasing a contented sigh, Jemma murmured, “Welcome home, Fitz.”


	4. Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi yes I am alive, and I promise I haven't abandoned this fic or any of my other ones - irl has just gotten pretty hectic as of late. I'm sorry for the wait!!
> 
> @biocupquake asked: "Can I request something? Like perhaps how they get engaged? Just something cute and sweet that will give me cavities?"; also requested by @lapiccolina

With the last candle lit, Fitz set the lighter that he’d been holding down on the kitchen counter, taking a step back to admire their handiwork. “How’s it look?” he called over his shoulder, his tone slightly anxious.

There was a beat, then he heard Daisy give a low, impressed, “ _Whoa_.”

Turning to face his friends, he found them surveying the main space of the flat that he now shared with Jemma, their eyes almost as wide as their grins. “I know that I’d definitely say yes,” Bobbi told him, then she chuckled and added, “ _But_ , I also said yes when Hunter very romantically said, ‘damn it, let’s just get married’, so my opinion’s probably not the best.”

“ _Hey_ ,” Hunter complained, folding his arms petulantly over his chest, “for me, that _was_ romantic!”

Daisy gave an excited little shimmy, clasping her hands together. “I just can’t believe you guys are getting _married_! Oh, this is so exciting! And I swear, if I don’t meet _my_ dream guy at your wedding like you guys did at Bobbi and Hunter’s, I’m filing a formal complaint.”

Fitz made a face at her as he pointed out, “Well, we’re not _officially_ getting married yet; Jemma still has to say yes, you know.”

In the next moment, he found himself on the receiving end of three of the most disbelieving stares he’d ever seen. “Are you kidding me, mate? You’ve practically been married to Simmons since before she even had Evie!” Hunter reminded him, arching his eyebrows.

“There’s no way that she’s not gonna say yes,” Daisy told him. “I mean, you didn’t even have to do all of this,” she went on, gesturing around them, “she would’ve said yes no matter how you asked her.”

Despite their vehement insistence, Fitz still wasn’t completely sure. He’d been planning this for some time and had been convinced that it was what they both wanted, but now that the day had actually arrived, he found himself filled with inexplicable nerves. What if he’d been reading Jemma wrong? What if she wasn’t ready?

“You’re sure that it’s not too soon?” he wondered aloud. “I mean, we’ve really only been together for about four months…”

“Fitz,” Bobbi said gently, stepping closer until she could lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You and Jemma have never had a ‘typical’ relationship, and that’s okay. You guys have been in love with each other for so long now, you’ve been raising your daughter together for over a year, and you’ve been living together for even longer than that. Believe me when I tell you that this is the perfect time, and that she will without a doubt say yes.”

“I still can’t believe you’re proposing on _our_ anniversary,” Hunter put in before Fitz could reply to Bobbi’s assurances.

Daisy gave Hunter a little shove as she shot back, “It’s Fitz and Jemma’s anniversary too! You know, in a way – even though it took them another two years and a baby to get here.”

Bobbi chuckled at that as she darted a glance at the clock on the wall. “Alright, Jemma should be getting out of work any minute now, so we’ll make ourselves scarce.”

“But make sure that you call us as _soon_ as you guys make it official!” Daisy repeated for what had to be about the fifth or sixth time.

“Yeah, sure,” Fitz agreed distractedly, sliding his hands into his pockets and absently toying with the ring box in the left one.

“Everything’s gonna go off without a hitch,” Hunter told him confidently as he went to follow Bobbi and Daisy to the door, though he paused beside Fitz and gave him a supportive clap on the shoulder. “You and Simmons will be engaged before you know it. I’m sure of it, and I’m never wrong.”

Fitz managed a small, grateful smile and nodded, too caught up in his nerves to remind Hunter of all the times that he had, actually, been _quite_ wrong. “Thanks.”

Hunter squeezed his shoulder before dropping his hand and following Daisy and Bobbi out the door, giving a quick thumb’s up before it closed completely behind them.

Now left alone, Fitz took a deep, steadying breath and tried to calm his racing heart as it suddenly hit him that the next person walking through that door would be Jemma – and then he’d be _proposing to her_. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe that she loved him and wanted to be with him, because he certainly did after the past few months that they’d been together; it was more that, well…he still just couldn’t believe that this was all really happening. Everything that he had with Jemma was like some dream, far too perfect to be real, and now that she may soon his wife…

Releasing a shuddering breath, he felt his heartbeat only picking up speed instead of slowing down – it didn’t look as though he’d be calm again until he’d proposed and she’d given her answer.

Trying to distract himself, Fitz left the living room to enter Evelyn’s room, where she was standing up in her crib, impatiently tugging at the bars and squirming around. They’d had to put her in there to keep her from getting in the way or getting hurt during their preparations, and she didn’t appear to any happier now about being sidelined than she had been from the beginning.

Upon his entrance, she hastily lifted her hands, bouncing on her toes and whining pathetically. Chuckling, Fitz obligingly lifted her out of the crib and onto his hip. “I’m sorry Evie, I know you wanted to help too. But, you get to help with the most important part, remember?”

“Yep!” Evelyn piped up excitedly, even though Fitz was relatively sure that she was just replying to the question in his voice rather than the actual words.

Once they’d entered back into the living room, Evelyn’s little eyes grew wide as she looked around, no doubt startled by how different her home looked from when she’d been put in her crib. Trying to regain her attention, though, Fitz gave her a little bounce and asked, “Evie, do you remember what you’re going to do when I say, ‘now, Evie’?”

She turned her rounded eyes to him, blinking a couple of times, then made a grasping motion impatiently with her hand.

“Ah, yes, you need the ring, don’t you?” Shifting her weight, he freed his left hand to reach into his pocket and grab the ring box. Before he handed it to Evelyn, he double-checked to make sure that the closure was secured so that she couldn’t open the box herself – the very last thing they needed was her swallowing the ring or something. “Now, what are you gonna do, sweetheart?” Proudly, Evelyn held out the ring in her tiny hands. “And who are you giving that to?”

“Mama!”

“Right, good, and then I’ll say, ‘will you marry me’ and, well, hopefully Mummy will say yes.” Fitz gave her another little bounce on his hip that had her letting loose a round of adorable little giggles. “Let’s hope she can’t say no to _both_ of us, yeah?” Hearing the muffled sound of footsteps on the stairs outside, he felt his heartbeat once more gaining speed in his chest and his hands beginning to shake. Hastily, he reminded Evelyn, “Just hold onto that until Daddy says so, okay?”

“Okay!”

Figuring that that was as good as he was going to get from her, he readjusted his grip on her and turned toward the front door, waiting anxiously as Jemma’s footsteps outside grew louder and closer by the moment.

 _Here goes_ everything, Fitz thought to himself, holding his breath as the knob began to turn and the door creaked open.

-

 _Honestly_ , the incompetence of some people. Scoffing under her breath and shaking her head, Jemma absently dug through her purse for her keys as she paused in front of the door to the flat that she shared with Fitz. Even now, hours later, she still couldn’t quite believe some of the new techs that her lab had hired at the beginning of the year. When she’d first started there, she’d been eager to please and prove herself, putting forth her best effort – but, these new kids were all far too confident and had egos far too large for their, in her opinion, meager skills.

She simply couldn’t wait for Fitz to get home so that she could complain about it to him; there was no doubt that he’d be able to relate, and after a few swapped stories on the subject, she’d feel worlds better.

There was a little smile tugging at her lips already at the simple thought, but it quickly faltered when she slid her key in the lock and found that the door had already _been_ unlocked.

Frowning down at it, Jemma wondered to herself if they’d accidentally forgotten to lock the door behind them that morning during their normal scramble out the door with a cranky Evelyn who very much wasn’t interested in going to daycare – or being anywhere but asleep in her crib.

That thought, of course, brought fears that a burglar had just wandered into their flat and starting taking things, so she hastily pushed open the door, now afraid to find that all of their possessions were missing.

What Jemma did not expect to find, however, was the darkened flat filled with the soft glow given off by strands of twinkle lights all along the walls and flickering candles placed on every available surface.

And, right in the middle of it all was Fitz with Evelyn perched on his hip, his anxiety and overwhelming love practically palpable.

Almost instantly, Jemma felt tears gathering in her eyes, her breath catching in her throat as she just barely remembered to close the door behind her, her purse falling from her hand and landing on the floor, already forgotten. “ _Fitz_ …” she just barely managed to whisper, taking a couple of shaky steps toward him.

“I, um, well, I considered so many different places that I could do this,” Fitz started, his voice hoarse with emotion and not much louder or stronger than hers had been. “I thought about an expensive restaurant with champagne, or in a field under the stairs, but…but in the end, it just felt right to do this here, in our flat. This is…it’s where we first to got to know each other, where we experienced incredible highs and survived horrible lows, always together through it all. It’s where we’ve made a home for our daughter, and where we learned how to be a family. And now, I…I’m hoping that it’ll be the place where we promise to officially become that family, _forever_.”

The tears that had been threatening since she’d walked into the flat spilled over at his words, but Jemma paid them no heed as she clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle the quiet sob that she could feel building at the back of her throat – not to mention the answer that she was already desperate to give.

“Jemma…do you remember that day, when we took Oliver and Gracie to dinner at that noisy, packed fast food restaurant? When you asked me what I was thinking about, and I told that I’d tell you some other time?”

At first, Jemma couldn’t quite place the memory, her thoughts already all a jumble from the wealth of emotion inside of her at the moment. But, then she suddenly remembered sitting at the sticky table next to Fitz and across from her niece and nephew, in a chair with slightly uneven legs, children screaming and yelling and laughing all around them. She’d caught Fitz gazing intently at her, his eyes soft and filled with…with _something_ that had had a pleasant shiver running down her spine.

Not trusting her voice, she simply nodded in response, finding it hard to catch her breath as she waited to find out where he was going with this.

“Well, it was then, in that utterly unremarkable and completely ordinary moment that I knew…I knew with absolute clarity that you and I were meant to find each other, to be together. I knew then that you were the only person that I could ever want to…could ever imagine spending the rest of my life with. Jemma, I knew then that you were the love of my life, my future. So…”

Jemma couldn’t help the little sob that she gave when Fitz got down on one knee – but, much to her confusion, he then set Evelyn down on her feet and gave her a gentle push in her direction. “Now, Evie.”

With a blindingly bright grin on her beautiful little face, Evelyn toddled toward Jemma, holding out what she could tell when she got closer was a ring box. She presented it to her mother eagerly, and Jemma had to let out a soft laugh and shake her head in disbelief at Fitz.  He grinned unabashedly, giving a little shrug.

“Thank you,” Jemma whispered to Evelyn, bending down to lift her up onto her own hip, gently taking the box from her. Thumbing open the closure on it, she sucked in a breath when she finally laid eyes on the ring inside, glancing up to meet Fitz’s eyes.

“Jemma Simmons,” he started, his voice shaking under the obvious strain of his emotions, “will you –”

“ _Marry me_!”

For a moment, both Fitz and Jemma stared at each other blankly, unsure of what had just happened. Then, though, their gazes slowly dropped to Evelyn, who was looking quite proud of herself. Another beat of absolute silence, then Jemma couldn’t help it as she burst into laughter, her giggles slightly unhinged by heightened emotion and watery from the tears still rolling down her cheeks.

“Oh my _god_ ,” Fitz mumbled, still gaping at Evelyn in utter disbelief. “She…she must’ve picked it up from… I mean, I’ve been saying it all day, practicing, but… I just can’t _believe_ … I can’t believe my baby stole my thunder!”

His startled outrage had Jemma laughing harder, her stomach beginning to hurt from it, and through her laughter she pressed a kiss to the top of Evelyn’s head and murmured, “ _Aww_ , sweetheart, of course I’ll marry you.” She glanced up at Fitz, her mirth fading as she told him seriously, “And of course I’ll marry you, Fitz. Of _course_. _Yes_.”

“You know that wasn’t…I mean I didn’t – I still have to say it,” Fitz reminded her, obviously flustered by her premature response.

“No, you don’t; it was already perfect,” she insisted softly, a fresh batch of tears gathering on the rims of her eyes before falling. He visibly hesitated, clearly still convinced that he had to finish his proposal, so she held out her free arm and gestured him over. “Please, it was _perfect_ , Fitz.”

It took another moment, but he finally complied, standing from his kneel and closing the small space between them to wrap her and Evelyn up in an embrace. She hugged him back with every ounce of love that she had for him inside of her, closing her eyes as his lips found hers and pouring that love into their kiss as well.

“Marry me,” he mumbled against her lips suddenly.

With a surprised laugh, Jemma pulled back to roll her eyes at him. “Ugh _Fitz_!”

“There, _now_ it was perfect,” he replied, shooting her a slightly smug grin. Finding her hand with his, he gently extricated the ring box from it and took a step back, removing the ring from the box. She felt a flash of excitement and anticipation as she waited for him to slip the ring on her finger – but, he only stood there, looking perplexed.

“What?” she finally asked.

“Well, um…” Clearing his throat, Fitz gestured to Evelyn. “You’re holding Evie on your left, so…”

Frowning, Jemma glanced down as well, sure enough finding Evelyn beaming back at her from her left side, her left hand supporting her slight weight. “ _Oh_!” Flushing slightly, she maneuvered Evelyn around, switching arms until she’d freed up her left. “There.”

With a quiet chuckle, Fitz grasped her hand in his, carefully and lovingly sliding the ring onto the proper finger. Once it was in place, they both simply gazed down at the sight, and Jemma felt as though she couldn’t quite breathe properly, the _rightness_ of it all striking her breathless.

Swallowing against another round of tears, she lifted her eyes to his and whispered, “I love you, Fitz. I _love_ you. I can’t wait to…to spend the rest of my life with you.”

He closed his eyes then, as though her words were physically too much for him to take. Tugging her back into his arms, he blindly found her lips with his, one hand cupping her cheek to keep her close. “I love you, I love you, _I love you_ ,” he whispered against her lips, into their kiss, and Jemma’s heart had never felt fuller.

After a lengthy moment, she broke the kiss to ask with a watery laugh, “How did you _manage_ all of this? Did you even go to work today?”

Fitz smiled sheepishly as he admitted, “For half the day, yeah. But I left after lunch, picked up Evie, and met Hunter, Bobbi, and Daisy here. They really helped out a lot – or, well, Daisy and Bobbi did, while Hunter just spent most of the time complaining about how tangled up those lights can get.”

Laughing softly and shaking her head, Jemma murmured, “Well, remind me to thank them the next time I talk to them.” She leaned in to capture Fitz’s lips with hers once more, finding it incredibly hard _not_ to kiss him when he’d done all of this, just for _her_.

“ _Oh_.” Abruptly, he pulled back, explaining sheepishly, “Daisy wanted us to call them as soon as we were engaged.”

Jemma gave a roll of her eyes, grasping his shoulder and pulling him back to her. “We’ve waited two years for this; they can wait a bit longer. This time is just for us, for our family.” Her own words had her heart jumping slightly in her chest, filling her with a love so strong and powerful, she was afraid that it might consume her completely.

“ _Our family_ ,” Fitz repeated, his tone reverent. She felt his lips pressing against the top of her head as his arms once more encircled her and Evelyn, and as she laid her hand against his back, she could feel the cold press of the ring against her finger. In that moment, the love that she had inside of her for Fitz, for Evelyn – her _family_ – was _more_ than enough to consume her, and she was more than happy to let it.


	5. Wedding Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt: "could I request Jemma and Fitz + wedding planning??", requested by @inevitablefan-ne-girl over on tumblr

“C’mon Evie,” Fitz prompted a tad desperately, the words muffled around the slice of half-burnt toast clenched between his teeth as he once more picked up her sippy cup of juice from the floor. “We don’t have time for this today.”

“ _No_ ,” Evelyn replied crankily, smacking her hand into her bowl of dry Cheerios and sending them flying off the edge of her highchair’s tray.

Jemma winced sympathetically as she finished towel-drying her hair, tossing the towel onto the back of a nearby chair. “Did you try the fresh strawberries and blueberries?”

“Why do you think I needed to change my shirt?” he replied dryly, rolling his eyes as he crouched down to once more retrieve their daughter’s cup.

Jemma hummed thoughtfully at that. “Goodness, she must really be grumpy today then – you know how she usually loves fruit.” Brushing it off, though, she moved on to listing off the events for the day, “Alright, so we’re meeting my mum and Charlotte at the bridal shop, and they’ll have Oliver with them for you to bring along for your fittings, and then the girls and I will be going out for lunch. Oh, and don’t forget that we’re having dinner with my family tonight.” She paused, double-checking to make sure that she had everything that she needed in her purse, then continued, “We have to make sure that the save-the-date cards are ready to be sent out for Monday, and we have our appointment with the florist after work that afternoon. I already talked to Daisy, and if we aren’t finished in time, she’s on standby to pick Evelyn up from day care.” Finally finished, she released a long, low breath.

Chuckling, Fitz arched an eyebrow and teased, “Oh, is that all?” When she rolled her eyes in response, he commented, “Who knew that planning a wedding was so difficult?”

She scoffed, reminding him pointedly, “Well, I _did_ spend quite a bit of time helping Bobbi plan her wedding, you know. Though, truthfully, it didn’t seem _this_ time-consuming back then, no matter how overworked I was.” Smiling wryly, she remarked, “But then again, I didn’t have a trouble-making toddler back then.” With that, she leant over Evelyn, pressing a kiss to her little cheek and telling her firmly, “Eat up, sweetheart, we’ve got to go pick out Mummy’s wedding dress – and your dress too, of course.”

Evelyn almost immediately brightened up at that, her little show of fake tears and sobs clearing up as she dug a tiny fist into her cereal. Jemma shot a smug smirk at Fitz, who muttered, “Show-off,” around his last bite of toast.

Throwing her still-wet hair up into a haphazard ponytail, Jemma grabbed a granola bar to eat in the car before darting a glance at the clock, pointing out with a wince, “We should’ve left ten minutes ago.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not that far away,” he replied soothingly.

Despite that, she hurried to pick up the diaper bag, throwing it over her shoulder along with her purse, tossing together a couple of quick snacks in case Evelyn got hungry while they were out. “Can you get her?” she asked as she finished filling the bag, plucking the keys up off the counter.

“Sure thing.” Fitz picked Evelyn up out of her highchair, grabbing her cup and what was left of her cereal, following Jemma out the door. However, as she was locking it behind them, he caught her arm and reminded her gently, “Hey, Jem, calm down. This is supposed to be a _good_ thing, remember? I hate seeing you stress yourself out so much over this.” With a warm, loving smile, he went on, “No matter if everything goes off without a hitch, or if we have the right music or the right flowers or whatever, as long as we’re getting married, it’ll be _perfect_ , alright? _That’s_ the most important part.”

Almost instantly, Jemma could feel herself relax, the stress seeping out of her as she smiled softly, agreeing, “Right,” leaning in to capture his lips in a brief, grateful kiss.

It wasn’t long after they left their flat that they arrived at the bridal shop, where her mother, Charlotte, Oliver, and Grace were waiting for them.

“I’m so sorry that we’re late,” Jemma apologized immediately. “And thank you so much for flying all the way to the States for this, truly.”

Her mother laughed as they embraced, teasing, “Late to be early, you mean? Darling, your appointment isn’t for another ten minutes.” Then, she added with an arched eyebrow, “And, I’ve been waiting _years_ to help my daughter choose a wedding dress – I wasn’t about to let you living in another country stand in my way.”

Charlotte shot a glance at Fitz behind her, asking pointedly, “You’re leaving, right?”

Fitz rolled his eyes good-naturedly at that. “Ah yes, good to see you again, Charlotte.”

She simply gave him a winning smile in response. “You too, Fitz.”

He clasped a hand on Oliver’s shoulder then, asking him, “Alright, are you ready to leave the women to their dresses and go spend a day with the guys?”

Oliver grinned at that, nodding excitedly. “Yeah!”

Chuckling, Fitz replied, “Good.” He stepped forward to hand Evelyn off to Jemma, pressing a kiss to their daughter’s forehead and telling her seriously, “Be good for Mummy and your aunts and Grandma, okay?” He then turned to Jemma, giving her a kiss. “I’ll see you tonight. Love you.”

“Love you,” Jemma said in return, sharing a warm smile with him before he and Oliver left the store. She spent a few minutes catching up with her mother and sister while they waited for her appointment to begin, and right on time, Bobbi arrived to join them. “Is Daisy with you?” she asked her friend hopefully.

Bobbi shrugged apologetically, shaking her head. “No, it’s just me.”

“Well, she’s probably running late,” Jemma admitted, giving a fond little roll of her eyes, “you know how she can be; I’m sure she’ll be along soon.”

It was another couple of minutes before they were led further into the store to their private room with a long white sofa in the middle of it, a dressing room separated from the rest of the room by a plain white curtain. Jemma couldn’t help but feel slightly overwhelmed, though, having happened to catch a glance at the seemingly endless racks of wedding dresses on their way there.

“Any idea what you’re looking for?” Charlotte asked her curiously as she got Evelyn and Grace set up on the couch with a few toys (and with explicit instructions _not_ to touch any of the dresses).

Pursing her lips, Jemma admitted, “Well, I’ve always imagined wearing a dress like Mum’s, something with lace, at least.” After all, she _had_ spent quite a bit of time as a girl admiring the pictures from her parents’ wedding, dreaming of someday wearing a dress just as beautiful as her mother’s ( _if_ she were ever to get married, that was).

Her mother smiled fondly, giving a little laugh as she commented, “It must run in the family – I chose my dress because it reminded me of _my_ mum’s.”

“Sorry I’m late!” They all glanced up at the call, finding Daisy just rushing in with an unfamiliar woman trailing behind her. Throwing the group at large an apologetic smile, she added, “Also, I hope you don’t mind that I brought Yo-Yo – from the way things are looking, she’s gonna be my plus one to the wedding, so I figured it was better that you met her before the big day.”

Daisy had mentioned her new co-worker and friend, Elena Rodriguez, quite a few times in the past couple of weeks, ever since she had chosen Daisy to replace the head of the IT department at the company that she worked for. Ever since, Daisy had jokingly been referring to her as her “new best friend”, relieved as she was to get out of the job that she’d had for quite a few years and away from the awful boss that she was always complaining about.

“It’s no problem at all,” Jemma assured her, smiling warmly at Elena as she stepped over to shake her hand. “I’m Jemma; it’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Oh, you too,” Elena replied with a little chuckle. “Your wedding is all that Daisy has been talking about at work ever since she started.” Just then, her gaze strayed over Jemma’s shoulder, and her smile grew as she asked, “Is that your daughter?”

Jemma turned, sure enough finding Evelyn hurrying her way over toward the new arrivals, beaming excitedly up at Daisy. “Yes, this is Evelyn.”

“Auntie! Auntie!” Evelyn whined pathetically, dancing on her toes and holding her hands out to Daisy.

Daisy laughed, indulging Evelyn as she always did, swooping down to pick her up and place her on her hip. “Hey Evie! This is my friend, Yo-Yo. Can you say hi?”

Evelyn glanced curiously at Elena, obviously unsure at the sudden appearance of someone that she didn’t know. “Hi,” she greeted unsurely.

“Hello Evelyn,” Elena said warmly. “Are you excited that your mommy and daddy are getting married?”

At the question, Evelyn immediately brightened up, squirming delightedly as she cried, “Yep!”

“She doesn’t quite understand the concept,” Jemma confessed to Elena with a little smile and a fond roll of her eyes. “In fact, she happens to think that _she’s_ getting married too, and her favorite game to play as of late is ‘wedding’. Fitz and I are beginning to fear that we talk about it too much around her. Of course, it _also_ seems to be all we have time to talk about these days, so I suppose the point is moot.”

“Alright,” Daisy said as she plopped down on the sofa with Evelyn, “let’s get this show on the road!”

With help from her mother and sister, Jemma went about the store, choosing a few different dresses that fit her specifications, bringing them back into the dressing room with her. It took a bit of time and _careful_ struggling, but she finally managed to get on the first dress.

Before stepping out of the dressing room, however, she took a moment to look in the mirror, feeling her breath catch slightly at the sight of herself in a wedding dress for the first time. It was something that she’d wondered over the years if it would ever actually happen, and wasn’t something that she’d ever imagined _needing_ in her life, but there she was, trying on wedding dresses and preparing to marry her best friend and the love of her life in just a handful of months now.

Just the thought brought an awed smile to her lips, but then Bobbi called, “You need some help, Jem?”

“No, I’m fine,” Jemma answered, finally pulling back the curtain and stepping out to join the others.

Even though they all agreed that it was a beautiful dress and that _she_ looked beautiful, it was pretty apparent that it simply wasn’t _her_ dress, though it _was_ close. She tried on a few more that all received the same answer, and just as she was beginning to wonder if her dress was out there, she came to the last one in her dressing room.

It was a lacy v-neck trumpet dress with a keyhole back, and as Jemma was gazing at herself in the mirror, she could clearly imagine what the look on Fitz’s face would be when he saw her in the dress. She could already feel tears building in her eyes and a watery laugh passed her lips as pictured the adoration in gaze and the way that his lips would part to let out a little rush of air because he couldn’t believe that she was marrying _him_ (the silly man).

When she’d forced herself to turn away from the mirror and opened the curtain to once more step out of the dressing room, she informed the others breathlessly, “I think this is the one.”

A hush fell over the little room in response, and Jemma could see her mother lifting a hand to cover her mouth, her eyes suspiciously bright, and noticed Bobbi wiping a tear discreetly from the corner of her eye. Daisy was the one to break the silence, though, letting out a watery little squeal and crying out, “Oh my _god_ , Jemma! Look at you – you’re a _bride_!”

“You look beautiful,” Elena added sincerely, smiling warmly at her.

Evelyn, who had been playing on the ground with Grace nearby, glanced up at her mother then, her eyes going wide as she gazed up her, seemingly mesmerized by the sight. Jemma laughed softly at that, leaning over to pick her up and situating her on her hip as she asked, “Do you like Mummy’s dress?”

She gave a big nod in response, and Jemma pressed a kiss to the top of her head, turning to face the mirror on the wall behind her. Another rush of emotion swept over her then, seeing the picture of herself in the dress had now been completed by with the addition of her daughter. It was at that moment that Evelyn said in a hushed voice, “Mummy _pretty_.”

A round of teary laughter filled the room at that, and Jemma commented with a grin, “Well, it appears that Evelyn has spoken – this _is_ the one.”

-

Later that night, an exhausted Jemma and Fitz had finally returned back to their flat after dropping her family off back at their hotel. They’d promptly collapsed on the couch, where they found themselves now, Jemma lying back with her feet in Fitz’s lap, Evelyn sprawled out over her chest and stomach.

With one glance down at her, though, Jemma told Fitz with a quiet laugh, “She’s out like a light. Can’t say I blame her, though; today _was_ a big day.”

“Want me to take her and put her to bed?” Fitz offered, already reaching over to gently lift her off of Jemma.

She waved him off, though, assuring him, “She’s fine for now.”

They were quiet for a beat, then Fitz asked her curiously, “Did you manage to find dresses for everyone?”

Smiling excitedly, she answered, “Yes, actually – fortunately, we had quite a bit of success.” Tugging her phone out of her pocket, taking care not to upset Evelyn, she passed it to him so that he could scroll through the pictures that she’d taken that day of the bridesmaid dresses for Daisy, Bobbi, and Charlotte, and the matching flower girl dresses for Grace and Evelyn.

Fitz grinned at the pictures of Evelyn and Grace, both little girls taking the job of posing in their dresses very seriously – before bursting into giggles for the next one. He handed the phone back to Jemma, then cleared his throat before asking, “So, uh, what about your dress?”

She threw him a suspicious look, replying, “You’ll just have to wait and find out, won’t you?”

“Oh come on, I can’t even know if you’ve picked one out yet?” he protested in disbelief.

“No, you can’t,” she said simply, sticking her tongue childishly out at him. He laughed at that, even as he returned the gesture. Another comfortable silence stretched over them for a bit, then she sighed, “It’s been a long day – or, well, a long few months, really.” Groaning in exhaustion, she let her eyes slip closed as she absently cupped the back of Evelyn’s head. “Are we married yet?”

Fitz chuckled, picking up one of her feet from his lap and beginning to rub his thumbs into the aching sole, dragging a more pleased groan from her lips. “Seems like we should be, doesn’t it?” He was quiet a moment, then offered, “Hey, how about we just go back to cake tasting? Now _that_ was fun.”

Rolling her eyes and laughing softly, taking care not to wake Evelyn, she lightly kicked Fitz’s side with her free foot. “Oh _hush_. You’re the one who asked _me_ to marry you, if you’ll remember.”

“’Course I remember,” he replied mock-indignantly, “and I also very clearly remember a certain little show stealer hijacking my moment.”

Jemma grinned in response, opening her eyes to gaze lovingly down at their sleeping daughter, her cheek adorably squished up against her mother’s chest as she snuggled closer unconsciously. “I only wish we’d gotten it on film – it was so _precious_.”

“Yeah, well, as long as she doesn’t try to say ‘I do’ before I can, then I suppose I can forgive her.”

“We’ll see,” she teased, tossing a smirk up at him, “weddings _are_ all she’s been able to think about recently, after all.” As she stroked her fingers lovingly through Evelyn’s curls then, a sudden and unexpected thought occurred to her, and she sucked in a surprised breath. “ _Oh_.”

“What?” Fitz asked in concern, glancing up at her as he switched from rubbing one of her feet to the other.

Jemma blinked, then admitted, “It’s just…there’s something we’ve forgotten in all this planning.”

His eyebrows rose on his forehead, but then he made a face as he asked incredulously, “What is it? The invitations are all picked out, the caterer’s booked, the tuxes have been measured – what could it possibly be?”

“Surnames,” she answered, glancing up from Evelyn to catch his startled gaze. “Evelyn’s has been Fitz-Simmons since she was born, but…now that we’ll be married, should we change it so we’ll all have the same one? I mean, I hadn’t even given thought to what _my_ surname would be yet, but…”

After a beat, he confessed, “I hadn’t thought about it either.” Tone growing slightly hesitant, though, he agreed, “Perhaps it would be best for us all to have the same name – if that’s what _you_ want, I mean, I don’t want you to feel like you _have_ to change your name.”

Jemma reached out to find one of his hands with hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze as she insisted, “I _want_ to, Fitz.”

He visibly relaxed at that, but then asked unsurely, “Should we just go with…Fitz, then? Or…”

She chewed her bottom lip absently as she mulled it over. “Well, Evelyn’s name has always been Fitz-Simmons, so…” Something occurred to her abruptly then, and she blinked, giving a slightly surprised laugh. “ _Of course_. Fitz, it’s been right there in front of us this whole time!”

Fitz frowned, shaking his head in confusion. “What d’you mean?”

“ _Fitzsimmons_ ,” she explained eagerly, “no hyphen, just a combination of you and me, of _us_ , together as one, as a family. It’s just…it’s _perfect_.”

He gazed down at her in startled awe for a long moment, then gave her hand a little squeeze and repeated in a murmur, “ _Fitzsimmons_.” A slow smile began to spread across his face, and he agreed quietly, “You’re right, it’s…it’s _perfect_.”

 _Perfect_. Jemma repeated the word once more to herself, smiling almost ridiculously wide at Fitz as she gripped his hand just a little tighter, stroking her free hand lovingly over their slumbering daughter’s back. It was just like Fitz had said to her that morning; no matter what happened, as long as they were together, as long as they were family, things truly were perfect. It was as simple as that.

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me on tumblr - I'm theartofbeinganerd over there as well!


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